Worse Before Better
by Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Summary: A rescue becomes disastrous when Alan finds himself trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed business suite in California and he knows things are only about to get worse when he realizes his body is trying to alert him to something that needs immediate attention. Can Alan's brothers rescue him in time or will he be forced to deal with the consequences? AU Rated T for language


**_A/N: This story contains sick Alan and it is AU so no flames._**

* * *

Alan stood up from his crouched position in front of the toilet and wiped his wrist across his mouth. He'd been feeling terrible these last few hours, but he couldn't explain it. He felt nauseous from the moment he'd woken up and he was on duty for International Rescue. He always was. Flushing the toilet with a shaking hand, Alan went to the sink and splashed cold water in his face. He felt slightly better after puking, but he still felt miserable. How was he going to tell his dad that he may not be fit for duty if he had a stomach bug?

He'd be useless if he was dealing with a technicolor yawn while on a rescue. Not only that, Scott would likely bench him, relegating him to running command and control so he wasn't spewing all over the evacuees. Feeling his stomach roll, Alan gripped the sink's basin as he struggled to not be sick any more. A knock on the door made Alan pause.

"Yo Sprout! You coming out of there any time soon?! Nature's calling dude!" Gordon called from the other side of the door. Wiping a hand down his face, Alan looked in the mirror to make sure he didn't look ashen. Usually he like everybody else in the world, lost all color after heaving their guts out.

"Yeah Gordo. Hold your horses." Alan took a small sip from the sink's tap, praying it'd stay down. Opening the door, Alan stepped back when Gordon muscled past him.

"Geez! What did you eat last night Sprout? It's stinks in here." Gordon mumbled as Alan pulled the bathroom door shut. Alan seriously didn't want to think about food. That was what put him in the bathroom in a bowl hugging crouch in the first place. He'd slept through breakfast and woke up at lunch time and he couldn't stomach the few bites of Mediterranean chicken that Onaha had graciously prepared for lunch. He'd pretended having left something in his room when he felt his stomach lurch the first time and once he was out of earshot of the kitchen he'd sprinted up stairs and to the bathroom to relieve his roiling stomach.

Heading back down stairs, Alan keenly avoided the kitchen, not wanting to see or smell food in the slightest and he'd gone outside onto the patio to sit in a lounger. Reclining back into the seat, Alan hugged his middle as his stomach gurgled and cramped. This was probably the worst he'd ever felt when dealing with a stomach bug. Perhaps it wasn't even that…maybe it was food poisoning from the dirty water hotdogs he and Gordon had splurged on from a street vendor when they went to New York for their dad to pick up some papers from Tracy Inc. a few days ago.

Closing his eyes, Alan rolled over on the lounger and fell asleep. He felt so incredibly tired and he couldn't explain why. He went to bed surprisingly early the night before, just not having the energy to make it to dessert. He'd eaten dinner half-heartedly the night before, just not feeling in the mood to eat. Onaha had asked him if he was okay and suggested Alan go to bed when he admitted to feeling dog tired and he'd listened to her suggestion. Crawling into bed the night prior found Alan completely dead to the world and not even the klaxon had been enough to awaken him.

Thankfully it'd been a false alarm and none of them had been needed, but Jeff and Scott weren't too happy that he'd slept through the klaxon. Virgil who slept through you banging pots and pans by his head even woke to the loud and blaring siren of the klaxon and yet Alan had slept through it. It was indeed a first for him, considering how light a sleeper he was.

"Hey Al! Come on in and finish your lunch!" Virgil called from the back door having spotted his little brother wandering across the patio. Their dad wasn't too happy that he'd missed breakfast and hadn't the curtesy to attempt to each lunch after Onaha had fixed such a spectacular meal for them all. When Alan made no move to get up, Virgil shook his head and wandered onto the patio, coming to a stop beside his younger brother. He could hear the snoring from Alan and could tell just by looking at the kid's back that he wasn't faking being asleep. His breathing was rhythmic and soft snores were emitted, not the fake ones, but the ones that were soft inhales rather than snores. "Al?"

Alan never stirred to Virgil's question and Virgil walked around Alan to look at his little brother's face. Even in the sun, Virgil could see that Alan was pale. Come to think of it, he'd been pale since emerging from his bedroom several hours later than was the norm. Virgil woke up before him and had been awake for three hours by the time Alan trudged from his bedroom still dressed in his pajamas. Grabbing the giant umbrella, Virgil positioned it over Alan so he wouldn't be sunburnt. It'd do the kid no favors if he had to go on a rescue covered in sunburn.

"Sleep tight Al." Virgil murmured as he left Alan be. The kid obviously needed the sleep if he'd fallen asleep barely an hour after waking up from a ten hour long snooze fest.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Scott glanced across the center console of Thunderbird One as he heard his younger brother groan. Alan's Adam's apple was bobbing as he swallowed repeatedly. Concentrating on the flight, Scott tried to ignore the growing green color shading his brother's face. When Alan groaned again, Scott couldn't help but to look at his baby brother once more. Alan obviously wasn't feeling too hot. He'd broken out in what appeared to be a cold sweat and he'd continually swallowed like he was trying for all his worth to keep something that wanted to come up back down.

"Al, you feeling alright?" Scott asked as he looked around the cockpit for something which might double for a container should his brother wind up tossing his cookies while still in flight.

"I'm fine." Alan said thickly. He truthfully didn't feel as fine as he claimed he did but there was no turning back now. He'd already told his dad that he was fit for duty after Gordon woke him up when he'd again slept through the Klaxon. His dad questioned whether he could do it, his question had been to ask that if Alan was too tired to keep his eyes open long enough to properly greet his family how could he possibly be trusted to not fall asleep or stumble and injure himself thanks to his obvious fatigue.

"What's wrong?" Scott's brother senses were tingling and he knew just by looking at Alan that the kid felt crappy. Worse than crappy to be honest. His face was actually a variety of colors and even Scott had to admit that that took talent. Alan was green faced, dead white with rosy cheeks to complete the look of sick as a dog.

"I'm just not feeling too hot right now Scooter. I'll be fine though." Alan finally felt okay enough to not be wary of his gag reflex. Swallowing once more, Alan sighed slightly when his stomach gurgled.

"Perhaps it was something you ate?" Scott asked, taking note of how Alan's face got gradually greener.

"Please don't mention food Scooter." Alan rubbed his stomach, easing back into his seat. "What is our ETA?"

"Twenty minutes…think you can hang on until we land?" Scott asked with a smirk, challenging Alan to hang onto his cookies until they landed.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Alan wiped his wrist across his brow.

The brothers flew in companionable silence for several minutes and Scott had just announced that they were five minutes out when Alan let out a quiet uh-oh.

"What do you mean…uh-oh?" Scott looked across at his little brother to see his face gradually turning green again. Scott tried to ignore Alan's convulsive swallowing again and he'd prayed they'd land soon before Alan decorated the dash of Thunderbird One. "Oh…"

Scott watched Alan with baited breath as Alan covered his mouth and gave a gag several times. When they'd landed, Alan had bolted for the door and Scott was barely out of his safety harness when he could hear Alan heaving from the staircase that descended from the massive aircraft. He walked to the door and stood behind Alan as the kid gripped the railing and vomited again.

"Okay, you're sitting this rescue out Al. When Thunderbird Two lands, I want you to go to the sickbay and go lie down. You don't need to be doing any heavy lifting or strenuous activity if you're hurling." Scott said as he rubbed between Alan's shoulder blades when he gave another heave. "You hear me kiddo?"

"I hear you…but I'm going to help out." Alan spit before glancing over his shoulder at Scott.

"Uh-huh. Not like that you're not." Scott refuted. "You can't even manage a flight in Thunderbird One, how are you going to manage climbing in the mole or digging through rubble if you're puking every five minutes. You won't accomplish much."

"I don't care…I told dad I could do this and I will. Just let me help out and if I still continue to feel worse through the rescue I'll let you know. But please Scott." Alan spit again before wiping his wrist across his mouth. Now he just felt worse than he had earlier.

"It's against my better judgment…but fine. However, I will be letting Gordon and Virgil know as well as dad that you've been puking. If at all during the rescue they or I tell you to park it, you will follow orders and go have a lie down in Thunderbird Two's sickbay. Capiche?"

"Crystal." Alan said as he stood up straight, running a hand lightly over his stomach as he gave a wince. His stomach had gradually begun bothering him more throughout the day and not just feeling unsettled. His stomach around his belly button kind of smarted since last night – but he figured it was the new ab workouts he's been doing. He was working on building a six pack and not the drinkable kind. "So what do we have?"

"Earthquake made the structure unstable. The plan is to set up mobile control and then to send the mole in to search for the stranded. I'll go on in on foot to see if I can find any survivors on the ground floor. When Virgil and Gordon show up I want you to send them in with the mole." Scott ordered Alan.

"Hell no. Look just because I'm feeling a little under the weather doesn't mean I can't walk in the ground floor and look for survivors myself. Let me help Scott." Alan argued, wanting to be more on this rescue than just a lackey.

Scott looked like he wanted to argue, but finally he nodded his consent and Alan grabbed a couple of oxygen tanks and put them in his backpack before heading into the building. He and Scott had been briefed like Virgil and Gordon before leaving for the rescue that at least sixty people were trapped in various locations within the compound and twenty of them were on the ground floor. Thirty others were in the basement area while the ten executives were upstairs.

Alan entered the building and gazed around. It was quiet…too quiet in fact. He couldn't hear anybody screaming or crying for help.

"Hello? Hello! If you are there please answer me! I'm with International Rescue! Don't be scared!" Alan called loudly as he quieted to listen for anyone or anything to respond. There! Fifty or so paces forward and to the left, he could hear a woman or a couple women whimpering. "Can you hear me?!"

"Yes! I…we can hear you! Thank god!" Alan smiled as he heard the woman who'd answered him. She sounded okay to him, she didn't have the pinched voice of an injured person, she just sounded tearful and scared. Of course Alan couldn't fault her on that.

"How many of you are there? Who's with me right now?" Alan knelt before a pile of rubble and Alan could just barely make out a desk. Obviously the woman answering him and possibly three others had crawled beneath the large desk before the ceiling began to cave in.

"Five, there are five of us!"

"Okay, can you tell me your name miss?" Alan asked as he began to unearth the desk. His stomach cramped slightly, but Alan ignored it in favor of digging the survivors out.

"Patricia or Patty!" The woman answered.

"Alright, may I call you Patricia?" Alan asked the woman, wanting to divert her attention from their situation as he pulled slabs of drywall off the top of the desk.

"Yes." Patricia answered tearfully.

"Okay Patricia, who else is with you so I can relay the information to my colleague? What are their conditions, and your condition? Are any of you hurt badly?" Alan asked as he braced his feet and hefted a large slab of what appeared to be concrete off the top of the desk. His stomach gave a sharp stab of pain, but Alan continued to ignore it. People's lives were at stake, he couldn't leave them for a little belly ache.

"No, we're all relatively okay. Please Mr. Thunderbird, get us out of here!" Patricia begged, her voice dropping off into tears.

"I'm working on it ma'am. Have no worry, I'll get you out and you all will be safe." Alan thought he could see movement and he decided to ask. "Can you see me yet?"

"We can!" Patricia's hand reached up and Alan held her hand for a few brief seconds, giving her hand a squeeze in reassurance. "Thank God!"

"I'll have you out of here in a few moments ma'am. I'll never leave you." Alan said as Patricia released his hand so he could continue digging. "Can you tell me about your family?"

Patricia and several others gave a sob at the mention of family as it occurred to them that they'd live another day to see their family, tell them they love them. Alan wasn't going to give up on them, not now…not ever.

"My son, he's a junior in high school. Star quarterback on the team." Patricia gave a wet laugh. "I promised him I'd be at his game tonight; guess mom is going to break her promise."

"I don't think so. I'll have you all out of here and in the light of day in no time and you can get on to your son's game. I bet he'll play harder when he sees you there." Alan replied, saying anything to give her hope of getting out of her prison. "What about the rest of you? Got any special plans tonight?"

"After this, I'm going to go buy a ring for my girl…she's been pestering me for us to tie the knot – we've been together for eight years." A man murmured and Alan smiled at the idea. He'd eventually have to consider the same with him and Tin-Tin…but for now he'd still like to be a kid. He was only eighteen after all.

"What's your name sir?" Alan asked as he threw some debris to the side.

"Logan…my name's Logan." The man replied softly, just as happy if not happier to be given another chance at life.

"Well Logan, looks like your girl is going to be one lucky lady here soon. I can't imagine her not saying yes if you've both been together for the last eight years." Alan paused to swallow thickly when he felt another stab of pain. "Who else has something they want to do?"

"I want to be there to hold my baby when she's born. My wife is probably freaking out right now if I know her as well as I think I do." Another man said.

"And your name?" Alan asked so he could report the names of those found to Scott to cross off the list of lost souls.

"Gary." Alan nodded when he heard another of his victims tell his name.

"When is your wife due Gary?" Alan asked as he paused to put a hand to his stomach. It was really beginning to hurt badly. But he couldn't give up now. Not until everyone was safe and out of the building, then he'd have a lie down in sickbay of Thunderbird Two.

"She just told me she's pregnant. About three months. We've got six more months to prepare." Gary replied and Alan could hear the lifted spirits of the victims as they congratulated him on his soon to be fatherhood.

"How are you so sure it's a girl? I though you couldn't tell until you were through four or five months of pregnancy?" Alan had paid attention in his health and sciences class and he and Tin-Tin had taken the precautions so as to not find themselves in the parent boat.

"My girl has been an emotional wreck these last three months, and she loves chocolate. Her granny used the pendulum trick and the way the pendulum moved told us what the baby is going to be." Gary replied. "Got to love superstitious women, they know a thing or two."

Alan and the others chuckled before Alan continued on. "Who else has ambitions they want to complete?"

"I've wanted to get a dog, I've always wanted a dog and I'm finally in a place where I can get one." A soft voice spoke.

"What's your name miss?" Alan asked as he stopped to take a breather. He was gradually able to see the people beneath the rubble and their faces were caked with dust.

"Sandy…my name is Sandy." The woman replied softly.

"What type of dog do you want to get Sandy?" Alan asked to make her think of something besides her situation.

"I'm thinking of either a Lab or Dalmatian." Sandy chuckled as she obviously was trying to imagine herself having either dog.

"Why not both? Give the other dog a buddy to play with when you're away at work." Alan suggested. He himself would love to have a dog, but with International Rescue being constantly going, he'd have no time to train the dog to not make messes in the villa.

"That's a good idea…maybe I will." Sandy said a smile could be heard in her voice.

"Who else? Who's my last person?" Alan asked. He began digging again and he'd heard the surprised laughter of his victims realizing they were almost out of their prison.

"Jessica! My husband and I have been considering having another baby." Jessica replied, catching on to Alan's earlier questions.

"Another baby, what do you have right now?" Alan asked as he worked to unearth the last corner of the desk and free his victims.

"We have a son, he's four." Jessica said happily as she too tried to imagine herself with another addition to her family.

"He'll be a lucky little guy to be getting a little brother or sister. My brothers weren't too thrilled when I came along, but they got used to me." Alan said with a smile, relating to Jessica's family wish.

"Are you the youngest or something?" Gary asked with a smile in his voice.

"Yep, five years younger than one of my older brothers…they wanted a sister but a brother was what they got." Alan chuckled as he imagined the looks on his brother's childlike faces when they were told the stork hadn't delivered a girl but a boy instead.

"I'm the youngest too, I know how it feels." Logan replied.

"Hang on! I've almost got you out." Alan walked around to another slab of concrete and dry wall and he'd grabbed it and heaved it away. When he dropped it, the ground shook and Alan immediately clutched at his stomach. That hadn't been a smart move, but they were free. Composing himself despite the pain, Alan leaned over the desk and peered down at the victims who were huddled beneath the spacious desk. "Hi there."

Alan smiled at his victims from beneath his half visor and reached down to grab someone's hand and helping them over the desk.

"Wait here and I'll escort you all out. I don't want anybody getting lost or separated." Alan said as he accepted a hug from the woman he'd assume to be Patricia. When the last of the victims were with Alan on the proper side of the desk, Alan asked them to hold hands and he'd held a hand out for someone to hold on to as they created a human chain. Leading the victims from the building, Alan watched them as they ran once they were out in the open. Turning back to head back in, he was stopped by Virgil who'd anticipated his impending exit from the building.

"Sprout. Scott said you've been throwing up, what the matter?" Virgil walked up to his younger brother and angled Alan so they could lift their visors to look at each other. "God, you're pale. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I'm okay. I need to head back in." Alan said as he lowered his visor to return to the ruins of the building.

"No Sprout. I'd rather you not go in if you're not feeling well. Please, just go lie down. I promise, you won't get any flak from dad. Scott and I will tell him we made you lie down." Virgil put a hand on his brother's arm to halt his progress.

"No Virge. The sooner I go in and get the victims out the sooner we can go home and I can lie down there. I'm on duty and I won't lie down now because of a stomach ache." Alan said as he turned away again.

"Alan!" Virgil called making Alan turn slowly. "Just be careful okay. If you begin feeling worse, please abandon to rescue and come out, me, Scott or Gordo will take over for you."

"Fine." Alan said before jogging back into the building. Deciding to continue searching the ground floor, Alan searched for any other survivors, finding several more and leading them to safety. All in all he'd made a total of ten trips before an aftershock hit. Alan stood in the archway of a door while the aftershock rumbled. The shaking got so bad that Alan was thrown off his feet and he'd tumbled to the floor when pain lanced through his abdomen. Clutching at his stomach, Alan waited for the shaking to stop before trying to get up. He was in agony. He'd never experienced a stomach ache this bad before.

" _Sprout are you alright?!"_ Scott asked after the aftershock quit.

"I'm okay Scooter, nothing I can't handle." Alan replied, knowing that he was pretty much on a suicide mission. His stomach was killing him, he felt sick and tired yet he continued on.

" _Alright, how're you feeling?"_ Virgil chimed in making Alan roll his eyes.

"I'm just dandy." Alan said sarcastically, knowing that no…he was not okay and no…he was not feeling any better. He wanted to go home and crawl into bed. "Not again! Damn it!"

" _Aftershock_! _Find cover sprout! This one is big!"_ John's voice came over the comm and Alan looked around for somewhere to hide as the Earth shook violently. He was thrown from his feet again and he'd cried out when he'd landed on his stomach. " _Alan are you okay?!"_

Alan whimpered as the pain got worse in his abdomen and he tried to crawl to safety when a deafeningly loud crack was heard and parts of the ceiling fell on him. When the aftershock ended Alan was left struggling beneath the debris that had fallen on him.

" _Sprout?! Answer me! Are you okay?!"_ Alan groaned as he heard John holler through the comm. Obviously he'd been trying to contact Alan for who knows how long, but Alan was in too much pain to answer.

"Johnny?" Alan asked, biting his lip when he tried to move and found that nope…that made the pain a hell of a lot worse.

" _Alan? Tell me, where are you? Are you okay?"_ John asked, his voice relieved as he finally heard his baby brother's voice.

"I'm on the ground floor still, but Johnny…my stomach hurts." Alan admitted to how not okay he was. He hadn't mentioned to any of his family that his stomach had been hurting slightly since the night before – primarily because he thought it was food poisoning making his belly ache and making him sick. He hadn't known what else it could be.

" _I know, Scooter told us you hurled after he landed TB1_. _"_ John replied as he typed a message to Scott at mobile control letting him know he finally was in contact with Alan. The aftershock must have caused a lot of interference because Scott, Virgil, Gordon and John have been trying to get in contact with Alan for the last five minutes.

"When can I get out of here?" Alan asked meekly, now wishing that he'd listened to Virgil and Scott and gone to lie down in the sickbay.

" _I'm sending Virgil and Gordon your way now Sprout, have no fear."_ John said as he tried to calm his brother.

Alan tried to squirm a little and bit back a cry of pain when the pain flared. "Tell them to hurry. Please, I really don't feel good Johnny."

" _What's the matter Sprout?"_ John asked, worried that Alan was admitting to pain when he had a high tolerance for pain.

"My stomach really hurts, like really bad Johnny." Alan said as he tried to shift the debris from his body. This time he couldn't contain the cry of pain and he'd bit his arm which lay before his mouth in order to stifle his cries.

" _What was that?! Alan? What is going on?"_ John asked, alarmed at the cry of pain from his brother.

Alan was unable to speak for several minutes, his stomach twinging and throbbing rhythmically. When he could finally speak, he told John how bad he felt.

" _Is it just your stomach Sprout? Are you hurt anywhere else?"_ John asked, trying to get more information from his little brother.

"Yeah, my stomach and my leg, the pain has been getting worse." Alan said as he cringed at the thought of how pissed off his brothers would be. They'd probably kill him for not putting himself first as was usual. "I think my leg is broken though."

" _Virgil's asking me where the pain is. Where is it Alan?"_ John said, his voice calm yet alarmed. Obviously Virgil told John something that had to possibly do with his stomach pain and it wasn't good.

"My right…Johnny this really hurts." Alan bit his lip to not cry out and make a fool of himself anymore. Tracy men didn't cry.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

"He says it's his right side Virge. What does that mean?" John relayed the information to the family medic.

" _Shit. That's not good_." Virgil said. " _Gordo and I need to hurry. Alan needs to get to a hospital._ "

"Why?" John asked, fear dropping like a stone in his stomach.

" _Don't tell him this, but it sounds like he might have appendicitis. Judging on the symptoms recently, all signs point to that."_ Virgil said as he and Gordon could be heard jogging. " _Ask him if the pain has been bad all along or has been gradual, when he began feeling pain."_

"Okay." John silenced his link with Virgil and popped back in with Alan. "Sprout are you still with me?"

" _Yeah Johnny."_ Alan replied, his face twisted with a grimace.

"Virge wants to know about when you began feeling the pain. How long have you been feeling it?" John asked, hoping it wasn't bad or hadn't been feeling it for long.

" _Last night…before I went to bed_. _My stomach was aching a little so I went to bed early_." Alan said.

"Thanks Al. I'll be right back." John murmured before silencing the link with Alan and turning the volume back up with Virgil. "He's been feeling the stomach pain since last night. Said that was why he went to bed early."

" _Okay, that's worse than bad…if the pain is bad right now it could be because his appendix is about to rupture. Can you see his signal on your screen and tell us where he's at_?" Virgil asked as he and Gordon moved in, around, over and under debris in order to reach their little brother.

"Yeah, He's about 16 meters ahead." John said as he gave directions to Virgil and Gordon so that they could find their brother. When they finally reached the location that John pinpointed Alan, they began digging with determination that they'd save their brother. When they finally unearthed their brother, Virgil got to business checking Alan's vitals. With their combined efforts, Gordon and Virgil were able to pull Alan from the hole in the rubble.

"God!" Alan groaned when he tried to take a step and nearly fell. The pain in his side was so bad, he could barely walk. His leg not being able to support his weight didn't help matters either. Gordon came up beside Alan and pulled an arm over his shoulders to be Alan's support. Virgil helped to guide them from the building and when they made it out of the rubble, they went straight to Thunderbird Two.

"Alright Al, When we get inside I'm going to help you out of your jumpsuit and I'm going to check your side. I want to be sure of what we're dealing with…I don't want anyone panicking." Virgil said as calmly as he could manage. He knew time was of the essence and they didn't have a lot of time to work with if Alan truly did have appendicitis.

Alan was panting and couldn't verbalize a response to his medically minded brother and Gordon looked on in concern. He knew his little brother and Alan had a high tolerance for pain. For Christ's sake he ran track and jumped hurdles on a broken foot when he was in high school.

"Hey bud, you still with us?" Gordon asked, concern barely concealed.

Alan whimpered as he looked at Gordon and the red head knew it was really bad if Alan couldn't talk. He adjusted his grip on Alan and he quickly released his grasp on his brother when his little brother shrieked in pain. As soon as Alan didn't have Gordon supporting him, he sank to the ground and Virgil and Gordon found themselves teaming up to lift Alan.

"We need to get him help yesterday!" Virgil ordered as he and Gordon slid an arm each behind Alan's back and gripped behind his shoulder blades while they grasped under a knee each and raised Alan from the ground. Alan gave a low cry in pain and barely restrained himself as he gasped out an expletive. "Don't let dad hear you use that language Al."

"S-shut up V-Virge…" Alan sobbed as he turned and hid his face in Gordon's neck.

"Almost there kiddo." Gordon reassured as he and Virgil started to approach Thunderbird 2. "Hang on for us."

"M' tryin, but…i-it hurts." Alan whispered.

"Hey, did you guys find Al?" Scott asked as he rounded the corner of TB2 only to have visual confirmation that they did find their youngest but he was far from okay. "What's up?!"

"Al's gotten worse, he needs a hospital now." Virgil explained as he gestured at Scott with his head for a hover cart. Scott got the message and grabbed the craft and activated its hovering capabilities. Gordon and Virgil relieved their arms of the burden, but didn't stop. "I hate to leave you on your own, but Alan needs urgent medical care and I can't render that kind of care he needs. I was going to take Gordon with me so he can stay in the med bay with Alan while I pilot her. It's that or I have to have Alan in the cockpit with me and I think he'd much prefer to be lying down as opposed to sitting up."

"Go, I can handle this on my own. I think everyone was evacuated. Alan wasn't the only one running evacuation protocol." Scott said as he helped Virgil and Gordon get Thunderbird 2 ready for flight. He removed Alan's helmet and did a quick scan of vitals using the handheld scanner, taking note that Alan's temperature was up to worrying levels. It was 104.3 degrees Fahrenheit and Scott knew they'd need to get Alan to a hospital pronto. Scott grimaced as he had to force Alan to stay on his back while Gordon tightened the safety straps across Alan's legs and chest. "God speed little brother."

Alan opened his eyes and blinked wordlessly at Scott, tears slipping free and falling onto the pillow beneath his head. Scott gave Alan what he hoped was a brave smile before quickly exiting the med bay and running down the ramp just as TB2 was firing up. The high pitched whine indicated to everyone that TB2's thrusters were building before take-off and the bay door started to close. Gordon entered the room and hurriedly tightened his safety belt as TB2 started to lift off.

"You'll be okay little brother, just stay strong." Gordon encouraged from his seat by Alan's feet. Alan tried to give Gordon a smile, but it became a grimace every few moments. Each time after when he blinked, he found there were gaps where he didn't know when he was in and out of consciousness. One time Virgil was leaning over him when he opened his eyes, another time when he opened his eyes he was being wheeled down a hallway – or so he thought and another time he saw a masked woman leaning over him, that last one he vaguely recalled the woman telling him to relax and count for her which Alan had no memory of actually doing.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The next time Alan woke up, he pried his sleep heavy eyes open and glanced around the room to see his family scattered around the room. Virgil and Gordon were both asleep on opposite sides of Alan's hospital bed, heads pillowed on their arms while Scott was leaned back at an uncomfortably odd angle and sound asleep. Their dad was asleep in the recliner in the corner and Alan was surprised to see John. The older blonde was asleep on the floor, sitting leaned back against the wall. Glancing around the room, Alan noted that it was just after five in the morning. Wincing at a throb in his side, Alan raised his blanket to see he was in a grown and wearing those odd socks with the little grippers on the bottom.

Giving a soft sigh, Alan laid his head back down and swallowed. He thought he'd imagined his side hurting him and he thought the lady with the mask was a strange dream. Not that whatever happened really happened to him. He shifted his legs slightly and was surprised when he heard a groan near his legs only to see Gordon waking up.

"You're awake!" Gordon whispered giddily.

Alan gave a tired nod of his head before he looked down at his brother. His tongue felt too big in his mouth and he was exhausted. "Wh't h'ppned?"

"Your appendix burst, we had to rush you to the hospital so you could have surgery." Gordon whispered as he moved up closer to Alan. "You had us all worried."

"M' sorry…" Alan mumbled.

"Don't be sorry, I doubt you really knew what was going on." Scott whispered, having woken up after hearing Gordon whisper to Alan. The oldest brother placed the back of his hand against Alan's forehead before moving down to his cheek, feeling for a fever. "Still got a bit of a temp."

"He'll be fine with some more sleep. Go back to sleep the lot of you." Jeff whispered without opening his eyes. Gordon and Scott stifled a few snickers and Alan gave a tired smile before listening to his dad and closing his eyes. He was pretty tired.

It was a few more hours later that Alan was woken by a nurse who was running a temporal thermometer over his forehead. He pried his eyes open and looked groggily up at the nurse. She gave him a smile before she departed from the room – leaving Alan once more to wonder what exactly happened to him. He thought he remembered Scott saying he'd gotten surgery, but it all seemed so fuzzy.

He looked around the room and noticed his family that were still scattered around were asleep and didn't appear to be waking anytime soon. Running a hand down his face, Alan turned his head from side to side. He didn't know what he was thinking, only wanting to do something because he felt restless.

His shifting on the bed woke Virgil this time though and the medic sat up suddenly, thereby making Alan jump and groan aloud when he pulled on his stitches. His groan woke everybody collectively within the room and they practically pounced on Alan after discovering their youngest member to be awake.

Jeff muscled his way past his other sons to get a visual catalogue on Alan and how he seemed to be faring. Virgil had scooted up one side of the bed to closely peer into Alan's eyes to make sure they were equal after his being buried alive barely twelve hours ago. The medic in him wouldn't rest until he'd managed to make sure his brother was well. The other brother's too were rightfully concerned. It'd been Gordon and Virgil that had dug Alan from the rubble though Scott had been the one to assess Alan just before Virgil and Gordon had taken flight to deliver Alan to the hospital.

John nearly lost his head when Scott announced to their dad and John that Gordon and Virgil were taking Alan to the hospital and John had demanded to be brought down from Thunderbird 5 – Jeff went up and retrieved him before they'd boarded the family jet and set a direct course for the hospital that Scott specified.

"How're you feeling son?" Jeff asked worriedly, he hated when any of his children were sick or hurt but to be so sick they'd need emergency surgery – that was the be all end all for Jeff especially since Alan was the last blessing bestowed on him by his late wife before she'd passed away in childbirth.

"Okay…" Alan tilted his head in his dad's direction and closed his eyes when his dad rubbed his son's head comfortingly.

"You are grounded though." Jeff broke the news.

"Why?" Alan asked, confused that he was being grounded at eighteen and he couldn't understand why.

"You lied about how you felt and you nearly got yourself killed in more ways than one. I won't discuss it until we're back at home, but I think it's time we reinforced some ground rules that must be followed no matter who you are. I am not only your father, but I am also the commander that leads this team, am I understood gentlemen?" Jeff asked as he addressed all his sons.

"Yes sir…" There was a collective reply from all who were present before Alan shifting once more brought everyone's attention to him.

"Is there a problem son?" Jeff asked.

"Nothing, 'm about to spring a leak is all." Alan mumbled.

"I think that is everyone's cue to leave and give Al a little privacy." Virgil said as he stood up and began rummaging in the night stand beside Alan's hospital bed. Go on, get out. I'll stay with Alan."

"I really much rather nobody stay with me. I don't need help holding it, I think I've got that base covered." Alan said as he looked desperately to Virgil when he saw the container. He knew he couldn't walk to the bathroom as much as he'd prefer it.

"No Al, I'll stay but that's only to empty the container for you. I'll pull the privacy curtain so you're alone." Virgil said before he ushered their family from the room, requesting they go to get some coffee and to get him one too if they went on a caffeine run.

"Fine, just please give me the container." Alan begged. Once the medic gave him the container, Virgil grasped the curtain and pulled it shut before walking over to the window. He heard Alan sigh in contentment after a few moments. "Okay, I'm good now."

"I should hope so. God you're needy." Virgil said before he reopened the curtain to take the container from his brother. "Wow, you weren't kidding."

"No I wasn't…are you happy now?" Alan asked with a blush. He looked away when Virgil grasped the container to go empty and rinse it out. When he returned he sat in the chair by Alan's bed. Alan wouldn't meet Virgil eyes and he grasped the hem of his hospital blanket tightly in his fists.

"Hey, you know you can look at me. Just cause I deal with your piss containers on occasion doesn't mean we aren't still brothers. I won't look at you any different." Virgil said as he chucked Alan beneath the chin.

When Alan did manage to meet Virgil's gaze he still looked up and away almost immediately.

"You guys are mad at me." Alan murmured as he felt the distant throb in his right side.

"Damn right we are…why didn't you say anything Alan? We could've gotten you some medical treatment a little sooner than we did. As it were you'll be in the hospital for about two weeks because you wound up getting peritonitis. In case you didn't know knuckle head that could kill you." Virgil said though he didn't raise a hand to slap the back of his brother's head. He felt like having an emergency surgery and being severely ill was punishment enough, that and a broken leg from when the roof caved in on him and buried him in the office building. Alan would be out of action for a few more weeks if not longer than a month.

"How long?" Alan asked, knowing that Virgil understood what he was asking.

"We got you to the hospital, but not before your appendix ruptured and peritonitis fully set in. It was touch and go for a while, but your fever finally broke after three days of non-stop sleep." Virgil replied as he looked at the machine monitoring Alan's blood pressure. He was doing better now that he was awake. "You were cathed up until last night, when you started showing signs of waking up."

When Alan didn't acknowledge anything Virgil said, Virgil changed the subject.

"You mentioned to John when we were out of contact that you'd been feeling bad the day prior to the rescue…is that true?" Virgil asked.

Alan gave a small nod as he kept his head down.

"How bad was it?" Virgil asked trying to understand how bad Alan's pain was. Alan shrugged in reply and Virgil ducked his head to meet Alan's eyes.

"It ached a bit before I went to bed, but didn't start hurting until after I threw up the next morning." Alan whispered as he recalled that the pain ratcheted up from a three to a twelve on a scale of one to ten after he threw up the first time that morning.

"So it didn't start hurting until you were already on the rescue?" Virgil asked as he tried to understand.

"No, I felt sick during breakfast and I left to go throw up. Then I went out on the deck and fell asleep in the sun lounger. Then we got called a while later to go on that rescue and I threw up again after landing with Scott." Alan admitted softly.

"So when did you really start feeling bad?" Virgil asked.

"After I threw up the first time." Alan said softly as he saw Virgil shake his head. "It won't happen again."

"No it won't Alan and do you know why?" Virgil asked unevenly.

"No…" Alan whispered, his voice going just a little bit softer.

"You only have one appendix…so no this won't happen ever again." Virgil said as he crossed one leg over the other while leveling a stern glare at his baby brother. "If you ever do something like what you did a few days ago, I swear I will kick your ass. I'm going easy on you now because I feel like you having surgery and being extremely ill was price enough. But next which I hope there will never, ever be again. You will come to me or any one of us and just tell us. If you feel like you're going to toss your cookies and you want someone to hold your hand, let one of us know, if you get a paper cut and you think you're going to die because of something as little as a quarter inch cut, come to me at least. But never just shrug it off because we could have lost you and that is something I never want to face ever again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes…" Alan whispered even softer if that was possible.

"Okay, then I believe you. Now I want you to close your eyes and try to take a nap. You need to rest if you hope to get better sometime soon." Virgil said before he uncrossed his legs and stood up to pull Alan's blankets back up. Once Alan had lain down with his eyes closed, Virgil began humming softly a song that was near to his heart because it was a song he'd only heard their mother sing once to Alan before she passed away.

* * *

 _ **2nd A/N: Author has never personally experienced appendicitis nor a broken leg, I broke my foot once in high school and did run the mile on said broken foot...and though that hurt like a son of a gun, I wouldn't consider that to be as bad as a broken leg or the pain of appendicitis. Updates for stories may be slow for a few weeks, I am once again moving and have to pack my bags on my days off from work. I will continue working on the stories in between the move but I might not post again for another two weeks...maybe.**_


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